Accountability & Improvement

Maine's public schools are subject to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the federal government's primary mechanism for holding public schools accountable, closing achievement gaps among different student populations and supporting schools in improvement efforts.

The Maine Department of Education has designed a new accountability and improvement system for schools to replace the provisions of No Child Left Behind, the current iteration of the ESEA as allowed under a waiver program from the U.S. Department of Education.

A New Accountability & Improvement System (ESEA Waiver). Maine's new accountability and improvement system considers multiple valid measures in determining the performance of students and schools, recognizes educators when they help students grow and helps struggling schools improve rather than feel stigmatized.

No Child Left Behind. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 is the current iteration of the ESEA, the federal government's primary mechanism for holding public schools accountable, closing achievement gaps among different student populations and supporting schools in improvement efforts.

Maine School Performance Grading System. The State of Maine introduced the Maine School Performance Grading System in May 2013 so students, parents, taxpayers and others could easily understand how their schools are doing, just as report cards help parents understand how their kids are doing. The grading system is based on several factors, including student achievement in reading and math, growth/progress in achievement, and, in particular, the performance and growth of the bottom 25 percent of students (for elementary schools) and the graduation rate (for high schools).